Please help my dog attacked another dog..

I_am_mad

Hello everyone,

I need some advice, my boyfriend lives on a farm and our dog is always shut in the kennel except sometimes some people get home early and let her into the house. She is a very clever dog and knows how to open front door, well she did this last night whilst we were out and let herself out into the garden, she is very protective of the house and the land around it so when she heard someone outside she obviously went to see what it was. Anyway to cut a long a story short she attacked a dog that belongs to someone who lives in a house on our farm, the man was fine about it but the dog did need vet treatment, i have offered to pay towards this, but i want to know where we stand ie legally, it was on our land so i dont know if this has anything to do with it, but i want to know what could happen as nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

Im just scared, and also i dont know what to do about my dog, its so unlike her and she has never attacked anything before.

Any help would be very appreciated, thank you so much.

foreign_correspondent

you need to make sure she cannot get out and guard in this way - she does not know the difference betwen an intruder and someone who should be there - does she live in an outdoor kennel?

Legally the police are not interested in dog on dog attacks, but I think you are right to pay the vet bills. Although I know it was an accident, ultimately its your fault for the dog being put in this position, not the other chaps, and not the dog's.

How is the other dog? was much damage done?

I_am_mad

well the dog had a punctured rib cage and my boyfriend has spoken to the man and said that it wont happen again and she will be put into her kennel permantley, she lets her self out when she thinks no one is around, but the man has said that he doesnt want my dog to be treated any differently and dont blame her or something along those lines, we are going to go around and offer to pay for the vets bill as i know its our fault really, but as we are not there all the time we cannot control her letting herself out at night this is why we are going to keep her in the kennel permantly.

I was considering taking her to a rehoming centee but at this time in the financial crisis no one would take her and i dont want her to be put down but i dont know what to do now, what if she does it again!?

Thanks for quick response. x

foreign_correspondent

No probs, its not a nice situation for you to be in...

but I need to ask - what do you mean, put her in her kennel permanently? Is she kept outside - did she get out from her kennel or out from the house?

Dogs being kept seperate from humans in an outdoor kennel can often lead to problems with aggression, so it may be worth considering whether she really needs to be kept outdoors.

It sounds like the other chap is being very reasonable indeed and would not like to see your dog penalised for it.

You are right, now is not a good time to try and rehome her.

As far as 'what if she does it again' - well, you must make sure she is not put in that position again - a dog cannot tell the difference between a burglar and someone who should be there!! She felt she was doing her job and protecting you and your house, please dont blame the dog.

Debt_Free_Chick

Personally, I wouldn't worry about this. I would be the same as the other dog's owner ..... don't treat your dog any differently, just leave things as normal.

Why? Well - you simply don't know the circumstances. It could well be that it was YOUR dog that was attacked and he simply defended himself. The other dog was on HIS territory. Normally, your dog would given the other a warning - bared teeth, low growl, perhaps a nip. The kind of thing that says "s0d off!". The other dog may well have retaliated, which is an attack on your dog, on his territory.

Just leave things alone. Provided your dog is secure on your land, you have nothing to worry about.

pboae

As your dog was on your land the DDA wouldn't have applied even if a person had been involved. And as has been said dog on dog fights are rarely policed anyway. Morally, I think you did the right thing to offer to pay the vet bills, but legally, they probably couldn't have forced you to do it.

It doesn't sound like there is any need to rehome her, she just needs to be kept under proper control in future. She sounds like a very clever dog, and probably gets bored stupid locked in a kennel for long periods. Plenty of exercise and some good stimulating toys would probably help.

If she can get her kennel open, but a padlock on it, that'll also stop other people opening it when you aren't around.

You might also want to find out exactly what happened. It's very unusual for a dog to suddenly attack another dog for no reason, when they have never shown any sign of it before. It was probably triggered by something, and it would be helpful for your own training if you can work out what it was.

EDIT: hmm re-reading your post it's possible the DDA could apply, as the other person actually lived on the land and had a right to be there. So it's not that clear cut, but as it was dog-on-dog it's not a major issue anyway.

foreign_correspondent

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't worry about this. I would be the same as the other dog's owner ..... don't treat your dog any differently, just leave things as normal.

Not good advice in my opinion - unless you want to be paying out endless vets bills and dealing with the repercussions. (which could be anything from angry neighbours to someone taking a potshot at your dog if its a rural area.)

Also, if another dogs owner tries to seperate fighting dogs they may well get bitten which would potentially be another kettle of fish entirely.

Errata

In my experience people who live on farms and in farm cottages are used to their dogs having ferocious arguement and biting lumps out of each other - it's part of country life. I once had to take 4 farm JRT's to be sewn up at the vets after an all out war over a rat.

Debt_Free_Chick

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Not good advice in my opinion - unless you want to be paying out endless vets bills and dealing with the repercussions. (which could be anything from angry neighbours to someone taking a potshot at your dog if its a rural area.)

It's too late to take any action as the dog will not associate it with the attack. In any event, there is no indication that the dog has done anything wrong.

On that point - the other dog was actually trespassing. It was the other dog that was clearly out of control, being allowed to wander on someone else's land, unrestrained.

I live in a rural area and just about everyone here has a dog. This would be a complete non-event in our village. Rightly so, IMHO

Incidentally, only a sheep-owner can shoot a dog and ONLY if the dog is causing the sheep distress. Even then, the farmer is still open to prosecution.

foreign_correspondent

Errata wrote: »

In my experience people who live on farms and in farm cottages are used to their dogs having ferocious arguement and biting lumps out of each other - it's part of country life. I once had to take 4 farm JRT's to be sewn up at the vets after an all out war over a rat.

well - when I was a kid my dog was shot by the farmer next door to my dads smallholding, so I would not rely on people being too relaxed about it, or particularly dog friendly. (this chap has always has dogs which are totally unsocialised and are often off and running on the main road, even now)

carlita

from reading your post was the dog in the house alone and opened the front door and got out?

I think you need to find out what exactly happened ~ I would speak to the other dog owner, was the other dog off lead did the owner try and seperate them if so what happened?

Is the dog socialised at all? how is he/she with other dogs when your around?

it sounds like the dog is spending all it time alone and may well be really bored ~ is there anyway it could spend more time with humans or another dog?